DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
1. Applicant's election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-24 is acknowledged. Claim 25 is withdrawn from further consideration by the examiner under 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a non-elected invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
2. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
3. Claims 1-7, 12-18, and 23-24 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by Young et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2008/0077020).
Regarding claims 1 and 12, Young discloses a method comprising:
receiving digital data that corresponds to signals from at least one pressure transducer that is pneumatically coupled to a bladder of a cushion (pressure sensor 31 monitors pressure in mattress 10, Fig. 3, [0081]-[0083], etc);
determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing (motion of the subject infant 100 caused by cardiac function and breathing cause pressure variations in the pad sensor 10, which can be detected by the pressure sensor 31, which produces or alters electrical signals in response to pressure variations, [0081]-[0082], etc);
determining that a person is sitting on the cushion in response to determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing (in addition to a bed, the system may comprise a chair, which may be determined to be occupied in response to measurements, [0002], [0073], [0078], [0116], etc); and
applying a control signal within the controller in response to determining that a person is sitting on the cushion (the sensor may also result in a signal to a pump to keep the cushion at a desired pressure via a pump, [0076], [0081], [0133], etc).
Regarding claims 2 and 13, Young further discloses that determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves filtering the digital data to pass digital data at a frequency of a heartbeat of a human ([0123]-[0124], etc).
Regarding claims 3 and 14, Young further discloses that the frequency of a heartbeat of a human is in the range of about 60 - 80 beats per minute ([0123], etc).
Regarding claims 4 and 15, Young further discloses that determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves filtering the digital data to pass digital data at a frequency of breathing of a human ([0123]-[0124], etc).
Regarding claims 5 and 16, Young further discloses that the frequency of breathing of a human is in the range of about 10 - 20 breaths per minute ([0123], etc).
Regarding claims 6 and 17, Young further discloses that determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves performing a frequency transform of the digital data, and determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing from the frequency transform (sensor data is transformed to the frequency domain to isolate frequencies of interest, including that of a human heartbeat, [0123]-[0124], etc).
Regarding claims 7 and 18, Young further discloses that determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves performing a frequency transform of the digital data, and determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing from noise in the frequency transform (sensor data is transformed to the frequency domain to isolate frequencies of interest, including that of a human heartbeat, [0123]-[0124], etc).
Regarding claim 23, Young further discloses a port configured to hold a hose that channels air between the controller and the bladder of the cushion; a pump pneumatically connected to the port; and the pressure transducer pneumatically connected to the port (sensor 31 and pump 21 are connected to the same line, i.e. a hose for channeling air into an inlet/port of mattress 10, Fig. 3, [0081], [0133], etc).
Regarding claim 24, Young further discloses that the controller is external to the cushion (signals from the pressure sensor are communicated to an external computer, Fig. 3, [0065], etc).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
4. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
5. Claims 8-11 and 19-22 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Young et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2008/0077020) in view of Alshaer et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication # 2016/0045161).
Regarding claims 8 and 19, Young fails to disclose that determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves determining moving averages of the digital data (although the low pass filter [0123] has a similar effect).
In the same field of endeavor, Alshaer discloses determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves determining moving averages of the digital data (moving averages were determined to analyze breathing measurements, [0242], etc).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Young to use moving averages, as taught by Alshaer, in order to more effectively detect the heart beat or breathing by normalizing irregular data / removing noise [0242]), with predictable results.
Regarding claims 9 and 20, Young fails to disclose that determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves determining moving averages of the digital data (although the low pass filter [0123] has a similar effect), and applying the moving averages to a neural network that is configured to output a confidence value with respect to whether a heartbeat or breathing is present in the digital data.
In the same field of endeavor, Alshaer discloses determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves determining moving averages of the digital data, and applying the moving averages to a neural network that is configured to output a confidence value with respect to whether a heartbeat or breathing is present in the digital data (moving averages were determined to analyze breathing measurements and may be applied to neural networks, resulting in a confidence value, [0242], [0255], [0258], etc).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Young to do so, as taught by Alshaer, in order to more effectively detect the heart beat or breathing by normalizing irregular data / removing noise [0242]), with predictable results.
Regarding claims 10-11 and 21-21, Young discloses that determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves filtering to remove frequencies that are too high to be associated with a human heartbeat (sensor data is transformed to the frequency domain to isolate frequencies of interest, including that of a human heartbeat, [0123]-[0124], etc).
Young fails to disclose that determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves determining moving averages of the digital data (although the low pass filter [0123] has a similar effect), and filtering the moving averages to remove frequencies that are too high to be associated with a human heartbeat.
In the same field of endeavor, Alshaer discloses determining that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves determining moving averages of the digital data (moving averages were determined to analyze measurements, [0242]).
Young as modified by Alshaer would determine that the digital data includes an indication of at least one of a heart beat and breathing involves determining moving averages of the digital data (Alshaer moving averages were determined to analyze measurements, [0242]), and filtering the moving averages (from Alshaer) to remove frequencies that are too high to be associated with a human heartbeat (Young low pass filter to isolate frequencies of interest, including that of a human heartbeat, [0123]-[0124], etc).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify Young to do so, as taught by Alshaer, in order to more effectively detect the heart beat or breathing by normalizing irregular data / removing noise (Alshaer [0242], Young [0123]-[0124]), with predictable results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHELLEY CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1330. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays through Fridays.
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/Shelley Chen/
Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3665
May 30, 2026
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